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A Novel Approach for Fault Detection and Failure Analysis of CMOS Copper Metal Stacks

Eberwein, Gregor Hieronymus ; Rinella, Gianluca Aglieri ; Bortoletto, Daniela ; Bugiel, Szymon ; Carnesecchi, Francesca ; Mauro, Antonello Di ; Leitao, Pedro Vicente ; Hillemanns, Hartmut ; Imhoff, Marc Alain and Junique, Antoine , et al. (2026) In IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 73(4).
Abstract

For the Inner Tracking System 3 (ITS3) upgrade, the ALICE experiment at CERN requires monolithic active pixel sensors of dimensions up to 97 mm×266 mm, occupying a large fraction of a 300 mm wafer. To manufacture such a wafer-scale device, larger than the single design reticle size, stitching is employed. The MOnolithic Stitched Sensor (MOSS) is a prototype silicon pixel sensor of 14 mm×259 mm size with the primary goal of understanding the stitching technique and yield. Given the large size, high yield is paramount for the ITS3 sensors, and an in-depth yield characterization was performed on these MOSS sensors. In a collaborative effort, the foundry adapted the metal stack to the requirements of the project, but recurrent fault... (More)

For the Inner Tracking System 3 (ITS3) upgrade, the ALICE experiment at CERN requires monolithic active pixel sensors of dimensions up to 97 mm×266 mm, occupying a large fraction of a 300 mm wafer. To manufacture such a wafer-scale device, larger than the single design reticle size, stitching is employed. The MOnolithic Stitched Sensor (MOSS) is a prototype silicon pixel sensor of 14 mm×259 mm size with the primary goal of understanding the stitching technique and yield. Given the large size, high yield is paramount for the ITS3 sensors, and an in-depth yield characterization was performed on these MOSS sensors. In a collaborative effort, the foundry adapted the metal stack to the requirements of the project, but recurrent fault signatures were discovered with various frequencies across all 20 wafers tested, and correlated through dedicated measurements and analyses. Following these findings, the foundry implemented a mitigation strategy to avoid the issue in the future. This article does not describe process details but concentrates on the measurements and analysis method.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
CMOS, failure analysis, metal stack, pixel sensor, silicon
in
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
volume
73
issue
4
publisher
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105032136422
ISSN
0018-9499
DOI
10.1109/TNS.2026.3671605
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 1963-2012 IEEE.
id
51b3a6fb-4aa9-4653-b3c0-b35c4bd1d309
date added to LUP
2026-05-07 14:22:42
date last changed
2026-05-08 12:30:30
@article{51b3a6fb-4aa9-4653-b3c0-b35c4bd1d309,
  abstract     = {{<p>For the Inner Tracking System 3 (ITS3) upgrade, the ALICE experiment at CERN requires monolithic active pixel sensors of dimensions up to 97 mm×266 mm, occupying a large fraction of a 300 mm wafer. To manufacture such a wafer-scale device, larger than the single design reticle size, stitching is employed. The MOnolithic Stitched Sensor (MOSS) is a prototype silicon pixel sensor of 14 mm×259 mm size with the primary goal of understanding the stitching technique and yield. Given the large size, high yield is paramount for the ITS3 sensors, and an in-depth yield characterization was performed on these MOSS sensors. In a collaborative effort, the foundry adapted the metal stack to the requirements of the project, but recurrent fault signatures were discovered with various frequencies across all 20 wafers tested, and correlated through dedicated measurements and analyses. Following these findings, the foundry implemented a mitigation strategy to avoid the issue in the future. This article does not describe process details but concentrates on the measurements and analysis method.</p>}},
  author       = {{Eberwein, Gregor Hieronymus and Rinella, Gianluca Aglieri and Bortoletto, Daniela and Bugiel, Szymon and Carnesecchi, Francesca and Mauro, Antonello Di and Leitao, Pedro Vicente and Hillemanns, Hartmut and Imhoff, Marc Alain and Junique, Antoine and Kluge, Alex and Mager, Magnus and Martinengo, Paolo and Panasenko, Iaroslav and Ravasenga, Ivan and Reidt, Felix and Sarritzu, Valerio and Snoeys, Walter and Šuljić, Miljenko}},
  issn         = {{0018-9499}},
  keywords     = {{CMOS; failure analysis; metal stack; pixel sensor; silicon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}},
  series       = {{IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science}},
  title        = {{A Novel Approach for Fault Detection and Failure Analysis of CMOS Copper Metal Stacks}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2026.3671605}},
  doi          = {{10.1109/TNS.2026.3671605}},
  volume       = {{73}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}